SOUTHWEST VACATION DAY 3 :: SANTA MONICA, CA :: I have many great memories of Santa Monica and Los Angeles. As architecture students many years ago, we spent a lot of time here exploring buildings designed by Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Charles Eames, Greene & Greene, and Frank Lloyd Wright. And of course, as college students, we took full advantage of the sandy Santa Monica beach and the open-air cocktail bars on the 3rd Street Promenade.

Today, we had a wonderful dinner with Kristie's dad and Carol at the Chart House restaurant overlooking Malibu Beach (Thanks, Doug!). We drove along the ocean on the Pacific Coast Highway with the top down, and afterwards enjoyed a long walk over the Santa Monica Pier and Beach.